Staff Autonomy Engineer

AeroVect; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

AeroVect is seeking a Staff Engineer to lead the development of autonomous driving solutions in structured logistics environments.

This role involves hands-on development and managing a core team focused on achieving market-defining vehicle autonomy. Candidates should have strong CS fundamentals, leadership experience in robotics, and a commitment to innovation and diversity.

Qualifications

• Strong CS fundamentals through experience.
• 5+ years high-performing engineering experience.
• 2+ years leading robotics software engineering teams.
• Experience shipping safety-critical software.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the development of an autonomous driving stack.
• Lead a team to enable reliable autonomous driving.
• Design and test all aspects of ground vehicle autonomy.
• Collaborate with vehicle engineering for system integration.

Skills

CS fundamentals

Perception and localization

Robotics software engineering

Industrial automation

Team leadership

Education

PhD in vehicle autonomy or robotics

Tools

ROS

Job description

At AeroVect, we provide autonomous driving solutions to some of the busiest airports and logistics hubs in the world. Backed by top‑tier investors, AeroVect is shaping the future of structured autonomy, beginning with self‑driving tow tractors.

If you have a passion for applying autonomous driving technologies to impact the flow of goods for millions of people, we want to talk to you!

Job Description

We are looking for a Staff Engineer who knows how to bring world‑class system design to autonomous driving systems in structured, low‑speed environments. In this role, you'll lead, manage and scale our core autonomy software team at a fast‑paced, early‑stage startup. Leveraging your experience building production‑grade systems, you’ll propel the AeroVect Driverto the next level, achieving category‑defining vehicle autonomy for the airport operational design domain.

Your scope will include leading the system design and implementation of key improvements to critical modules that include planning, prediction, perception, localization, and controls, incorporating both cutting‑edge techniques as well as proven, off‑the‑shelf approaches to support all autonomous driving and towing functions, creating unprecedented value and functionality for the modern supply chain.

The opportunity offers a technical, hands‑on team leader the chance to help develop a market‑defining enterprise product that combines autonomous vehicle technology with a robotics‑as‑a‑service (RaaS) business model. This role reports directly to our co‑founders.

What You’ll Do

• Define, lead, and own the hands‑on development of an autonomous driving stack for structured logistics environments, targeting milestones, growing the team, and working with internal/external partners – expect to spend 70% of your time performing hands‑on development, with the remaining 30% defining requirements, directing schedule, removing obstacles, designing and coaching the team to hit aggressive milestones, and building a team of world‑class engineers.
• Lead a team of engineers bringing up all components necessary for reliable autonomous driving in the airside environment, including vehicle corridors and the apron.
• Design, implement, test, and support all aspects of ground vehicle autonomy, including planning, prediction, perception, localization, controls, and infrastructure subsystems.
• Qualify all subsystems using objective measures, with an eye to functional safety and systems engineering best practices.
• Collaborate with vehicle engineering to create an integrated system, including sensor/compute selection and integration.
• Understand and keep up‑to‑date with state of the art.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Strong CS fundamentals (via industry or research experience).
• Background in developing the autonomy (perception, localization, and planning) functions of a deployed autonomous vehicle.
• 5+ years high‑performing engineering experience.
• 2+ years experience leading robotics software engineering teams.
• Industrial automation experience shipping safety‑critical software.
• Experience shipping a working robotics or vehicle autonomy system.
• Candidates with unconventional experiences especially encouraged.
• Willingness to get hands‑on and have lots of fun.

Ideal Qualifications

• PhD/advanced research or industry experience in vehicle autonomy or robotics.
• Background in safety‑critical software/system development (preferably a ground robotics functional safety standard such as ISO 26262 or IEC 61508).
• Prior experience developing and supporting all aspects of autonomy for a production ground‑vehicle system, or research prototype (end‑to‑end, full lifecycle development preferred).
• Startup experience in an engineering leadership role.
• Experience with ROS.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

We’re committed to growing and empowering a more inclusive community within our company, industry, and cities. That’s why we hire and cultivate diverse teams of the best and brightest from all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe that true innovation happens when everyone has room at the table and the tools, resources, and opportunity to excel.